Embarrassed
by A Scarlet Rebel
Summary: Parvati Patil's life was pretty normal, until a rumor that is untrue starts spreading around the school, causing Parvati's life to turn completely upside down. And it all started with harmless teasing and a friendly game of truth or dare... Dean/Parvati


Embarrassed

Chapter 1:

The Beginning

How did all of this ever even happen? Where did I go wrong? Why is it _me_ that had to be picked to be made fun of?

These were all questions running around inside of fourth year, Parvati Patil.

She felt like she had been abandoned, left behind, to bite everyone else's dust. It wasn't fair. She had never even meant for any of this to happen! Now her world seemed to be turned upside down.

But, let's back track to the beginning first. And then, you can tell if all of this seems fair to you.

* * *

All of this chaos and confusion inside of Parvati began one bright morning, like any other morning, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Parvati was just walking innocently down the halls, blissfully unaware of the disorder that awaited her in the near future.

It was just like any other day, totally normal. The classes went as scheduled. The teachers were fairly the same in attitude. The Weasley twins were causing havoc in the fifth floor corridor. All was normal. Not a thing was out of place. Well… if you don't count the toilet the twins blew up. But, that was fairly normal behavior for them.

Parvati was on her way to the common rooms, walking and talking with her sister Padma, when all of a sudden, her best friend Lavender Brown seemed to have popped out of nowhere.

"Guys!" said a rather breathless Lavender, who looked by the way she was heavily panting, that she had run all the way there. "I've got great news!"

"They've expanded the library?" Padma guessed.

Parvati scoffed and rolled her eyes at her Ravenclaw sister. "No, Padma. Lavender would NEVER be this exited over something to do with the library. It probably involves gossip or boys. So, which one is it, Lav?"

Lavender took a deep breath for her dry lungs. "None of those! You remember that sleepover thing I was going to plan with games like truth or dare and stuff like that?"

Parvati nodded. "Yeah, whatever happened to that?"

"I stopped trying to plan it because I didn't know how we'd get Padma there, remember?"

Parvati's face lit up in recognition. "Oh yeah! Well, how are you going to get Padma there, then?"

Lavender opened her mouth, then closed it, looking kind of sad. "How did you know what I was going to say had something to do with getting Padma to the Gryffindor common room?"

Padma, at the sound of her name, all of a sudden looked up. "I won't get in trouble for this, will I?"

Parvati rolled her eyes again. "You say it like we're going to get caught…."

"Parvati!" Padma exclaimed, clearly disgusted. "Well, you COULD get caught! And… we could ALL get into trouble, and then we'd lose our houses points! Is that what you want?"

Parvati pretended to be ashamed and stared at her shoes. "No, mother…."

"Parvati!"

While Lavender laughed until her gut hurt and Padma gave them both a disapproving stare, Parvati smiled to herself as she looked at the ground. Oh, Padma….

"Anyway, yeah. I know of a way to get Padma into our dormitory. And don't give me that look, Padma, I promise we won't get caught." Lavender looked around to make sure no one was listening, then she lean forward and whispered, "Ok, I found out that there is a secret passage that leads right into the Gryffindor common room. The entrance of the passage is right by the Charms classroom, which isn't a far walk from the Ravenclaw common room."

"Hold on!" Padma suddenly exclaimed. "Who said I'm going walk all the way from my common room, to the Charms classroom? What if Filch catches me?! Or even Mrs. Norris?!" Parvati wasn't sure, but she thought her sister was hyperventilating….

"WHOA! PADMA, get a grip!!!" Lavender yelled, grabbing both of Padma's shoulders and shaking them like she was a rag doll until it seemed that she calmed down, now only slightly freaking out. "All you have to do, is walk from your common room, to the Charms class_ corridor,_ not the classroom. Then, you walk right up to the painting of the dragons flying around the tower, and rub your thumb on the golden dragon's belly."

Before Padma or Parvati could interrupt, she kept going. "After you rub the dragon's stomach, you'll see smoke come out of his snout. Then, the portrait will open. All you have to do after that is walk all the way to the end of the passage, and you're there! Open the new portrait, make sure no one's around, and then jump out. Parvati and I will be waiting for you there."

Padma looked at them, a little uneasy. "I don't know, you guys. Are you SURE about this? I mean, so much could go wrong! You know that the portraits move; what if the dragons aren't there? Then what do I do?!"

Parvati sighed. "Paddy, will it kill you to be just a little positive? The walk from the Ravenclaw tower to the Charms corridor is about two minutes! You can make that, can't you?"

Padma looked like she was going to hyperventilate again. "I-I guess I can. Well… I'll see you guys tonight… I think…."

She turned right, headed for the Ravenclaw tower, muttering things like, "Only two minutes… Golden dragon… walk all the way down… they'll be there… nothing is going to go wrong… just paranoid… nothing's going to go wrong…."

Lavender and Parvati stared after her. They just stood there in silence, watching Padma slowly recede, when suddenly, Lavender turned to Parvati.

"Your sister is _such_ a buzz-kill!" she said, kind of amazed.

"I know, a total party-pooper!" Parvati exclaimed, shaking her head after her sister.

Lavender laughed and linked her arm through Parvati's.

The two best friends walked and laughed, talking of familiar things all the way up to the Gryffindor common room.

"Password?" The Fat Lady in the portrait asked.

"Flabbernitty," Lavender replied in a sing-song voice.

The Fat Lady rolled her eyes as the two girls giggled at the silly password and swung open to admit them.

Parvati and Lavender walked all the way up to the dormitory stairwell, giggling and having an oral debate on the origins of the strange passwords in the school.

* * *

"Oh my Merlin, this is going to be awesome!" Lavender squealed.

"I know!" Parvati agreed.

Hermione rolled her eyes from where she stood by her bedside. It was around ten o' clock at night and Hermione had been listening to Parvati and Lavender shriek about something to do with a sleepover since the minute she joined them in the dorm.

"What are you two even talking about?" Hermione asked, mildly confused. She hoped she had heard them wrong earlier….

Lavender replied, "We're having a sleepover tonight!"

Hermione hesitated before she asked, "And where will this sleepover take place…?"

Parvati answered this time. "Here, of course!"

Hermione's eyes widened. "What?"

Lavender rolled her eyes, then said very slowly and loudly, enunciating every word she said, like she was speaking to a diseased child, "We… are… going… to… have… a… _sleepover_… here… TONIGHT!"

Hermione nearly reached over to where Lavender sat and choked her to death. "WHAT?! And when did you get _my_ input on this? This is my dormitory TOO!" Hermione nearly exploded.

Lavender looked at Hermione like she just said Pygmy Puffs were ugly. "Jeez, Hermione, chill. It's just a little sleepover, you don't have to get so worked up about it."

Parvati looked at Hermione's dumbstruck expression and felt slightly sorry that they hadn't told her about it ahead of time. "But…," Parvati said, trying to make it up to her, "you can participate in our sleepover if you want to."

Parvati ignored Lavender's elbow nudge and kept going, "It'll be really fun if you can join us!"

Hermione only had to think for three seconds. "No. That's ok, Parvati, but I don't think I want to join… I think I'll just go to bed."

She threw her covers off of her bed as Parvati and Lavender began to set up three over-sized pillows on the floor. Hermione wondered why they needed a third... maybe just in case Hermione changed her mind.

While Lavender poured candy into giant bowls and set up all of the sweets, Parvati suddenly spoke up.

"I'm going to go get Padma."

Hermione suddenly looked up, slightly alarmed. "Wait, isn't that your sister?"

Parvati nodded.

"And… isn't she in _Ravenclaw?_" Hermione asked, now very concerned.

"Yeah, she's in Ravenclaw," Parvati replied.

Hermione's mouth was slightly ajar. "How can you get her here?! Its past curfew! Plus, you can't bring her hear; students from other houses _aren't_ allowed in other's common rooms, you know that! She SHOULDN'T be coming. It's against the rules!"

Lavender rolled her eyes. "Relax, Parvati. We're going to use a secret passage way. No one's going to find out!"

Hermione looked at them with wide eyes the size of dinner plates as Parvati left the dorm to get her sister.

She walked slowly down the staircase. She loved the tranquility of being alone and in the quiet. It was a nice change, constantly being around Lavender, who was chatty and lively, to being by herself and having time to think.

As she made her way down the stairs, Parvati found herself humming. She was just humming a song that her mother used to sing to her sister and herself when they were younger. She didn't know what made her do it, she just had the sudden urge to hum.

Humming old songs she had known since she was a little girl always made her feel better. For some reason, they were reassuring. It was like a piece of home. Like… she had a friend from the past to rely on.

When she got to the bottom of the infinite stairs, she openly the door to the common room only slightly to check if anyone was in the common room: No one was inside. The coast was clear.

Parvati slowly stepped out, still looking around to see if she'd over looked anyone that might have been in there. When she was absolutely sure that no one was there, she made her way toward a portrait that hung by the fireplace.

Parvati raised her hand to the side of the painting to open it, when she suddenly stopped. She looked at the painting a little closer.

It was just a boy… with a sword. He looked triumphant, like he had just finished a battle and had come out victorious. There were people behind him; they all surrounded him in a circle.

The sword he was holding had rubies embedded on the handle and Parvati could see initials on the sword…. Parvati couldn't really make out the letters on the blade exactly….

The boy looked strong and well-built. His face looked serious and slightly ragged. The boy had brownish-reddish hair that nearly reached his shoulders…. Why did he look so familiar to Parvati?

Suddenly it hit her like a pile of bricks. It was Godric Gryffindor. Parvati recognized him from the various paintings and posters of him around the entire campus, as well as the other founders. And the sword was the Sword of Gryffindor! She had seen it in Dumbledore's office once in her third year.

Parvati looked closer at the picture. Godric Gryffindor looked so… so heroic. She sighed, tracing her finger over the side of the canvas.

Parvati longed to feel that way. Like a hero. She was tired of blending in and being the quiet one. She wanted to rise above and be a hero. She longed to do something big! Something… that everyone would remember and admire. She wanted to be a hero.

Parvati sighed, bringing her hand down to her side.

"Well, what are _you_ doing out here?"

Parvati sharply whipped around, searching for the source of the voice she had heard.

When she turned around, she stood face to face with Dean Thomas, her fellow Gryffindor fourth year. His dark skin glowed slightly in the faint light of the fireplace, which was still slightly burning.

"Oh, it's you," Parvati said, sighing in relief.

Dean scrunched his eyebrows together. "Well, you don't really sound all that excited about it…."

Parvati made a face right before she landed a playful punch in his shoulder. "I didn't mean it like that, you bimbo," she said. "I was just--"

"Just what?" Dean interrupted. "You look like you're up to no good. What's the matter?" he said, moving closer to Parvati. "Did Good Little Parvati do something bad?"

Dean knew Parvati hated it when he called her that, 'Good Little Parvati,' and that's why he called her the name. As a matter of fact, he found himself doing EVERYTHING that bothered her. Lately, he had been doing as much as possible to get on her nerves.

She gave him a harsh stare. "DON'T call me that."

Dean smiled cockily, faking innocence. "Call you what? Good Little Parvati? Well, that IS what you are, aren't you?"

He slowly walked around her in a circle, his eyes never leaving her face, making Parvati feeling like she was boxed in. "Good Little Parvati… too scared to act like the hero… to do something on the edge to get you noticed… too hidden behind fear and in the shadow of a friend that's just as equal and even maybe _less_ talented than you are…. But, you know you want to… you _know_, you can feel it inside, that you want to be the absolute best you can be… but, Good Little Parvati is too afraid…. Now," he said, moving closer to Parvati so he could whisper in her ear, "tell me if all of these things aren't true."

Parvati barely sighed because of how close Dean was to her. He was right. She _was_ to afraid to do anything about her dreams of standing above, of winning everyone's respect by doing something big, something that would showcase her talents to the fullest.

That's why Dean caught her attention: He understood her.

Dean spoke, waiting for her response. "Well? _Is_ it true? Are you holding back your potential?"

Parvati was barely able to whisper, "Yes."

"What was that?" Dean said, testing his luck again. "I can't seem to hear you. What'd you say?"

Parvati looked down, hiding the smile on her face. "I said yes."

Dean grinned at her, cocking his ear to face her. "Say it louder…."

Parvati looked up and met Dean's cocky smile and dark eyes. "I said yes!" she nearly shouted, throwing her arms up for emphasis.

"Shush!" Dean said, throwing a finger up to his lips, signaling for Parvati to lower her voice.

Parvati mimicked his motion and giggled.

Dean looked at her, one eyebrow raised. "Oh, you think that's funny?" he said, not even fighting the smile forming on his lips.

Parvati giggled some more. "Well, yeah, I think that's pretty funny. Why do you care?"

Dean leaned back, pretending to be cool, something that made Parvati want to laugh so hard, she would burst. "I _care_ because you're basically laughing at me."

Parvati giggled, not able to handle the laughter anymore. "No, Dean. I'm not _basically_ laughing at you… I'm openly laughing at you!"

Parvati began to laugh. REALLY hard. She was laughing at everything.

The way he told her to be quiet with his finger pressed to him lips.

The way he pretended to be cool.

The way he "got on her nerves."

The truth was, when he tried to annoy her, Parvati didn't really mind. It DIDN'T annoy her, it kind of made her smile. It made her smile because Dean's failed attempts to bother her made her laugh at the way he tried too hard.

So she just stood there and laughed at everything he did. But, not in a bad way. She was laughing _with_ him, not _at_ him.

Dean stood there and smiled at her laughing. "I won't do that if I were you…."

"Oh yeah?" Parvati asked, barely able to breathe. "And what are YOU going to do about it?"

Dean unfolded his arms and looked at her, a smug grin on his face. "I'll show you what I'm going to do about it… I'll give you a real reason to laugh!" Dean then began to wiggle his fingers in a threatening manner, which could ONLY mean…

"No! Wait! Dean, don't do it!" Parvati said, trying to stop laughing.

But, it was too late. Dean lunged at her and began to tickle Parvati. He KNEW she was ticklish!

Parvati laughed so hard, her throat hurt from a lack of air. In between every laugh, she tried to squeeze out cries for help or pleas of surrender, but it was no use. She was doomed to being tickled.

After a while, Dean stopped tickling Parvati, so she was able to breathe again. Once she stood up to her full height again, the first thing she did was slap Dean so hard, it made a nice SMACK sound.

"Ow! What the heck was that for?!"

Parvati gave him a stern look. "You KNEW I was ticklish! That wasn't fair! AND that was totally uncalled for!"

Dean rubbed his check. "Still, you didn't have to slap me…."

Parvati sighed. "Oh, you baby. Let me see."

She gently put a hand on his cheek, causing Dean to instantly freeze. Her fingers were so soft and delicate on his face…. He tried to stand still long enough for her to examine his cheek.

"It doesn't look _that_ bad…," Parvati said, brushing her fingers over the side of his face.

Suddenly, Parvati felt a tingle flow through her finger. She sharply removed her hand from Dean's face as if she had just been shocked by and electric cord. She pulled her hands to her side, blushing madly.

Dean stared at the ground, rubbing the back of his neck. After a while of an EXTREMELY long awkward silence, Dean spoke up.

"Well, I guess I should get going. It's getting sort of late."

"O-Ok. See ya tomorrow, Dean."

"'Night."

Parvati watched him walk up the stairs, wondering why she had even been down in the common room in the first place….

Padma!

Parvati ran over to the portrait of the young Godric Gryffindor and placed her fingers on the side of the frame, pulling the side forward to open the painting. It was a lot easier than Parvati thought it would be.

When she open it all the way and stared into the inside, she could see the light of a wand moving… very quickly forward. Actually, it seemed like it was RUNNING toward the open portrait….

A few seconds later, Padma Patil appeared in front of Parvati. She was out of breath, her eyes were wide, and she looked like she had just run a mile.

"Padma! Why'd it take you so long to get here?"

Padma, who had just stepped out of the painting panting, said, sort of breathlessly. "I-I didn't know when to leave. And I had to wait for the dragons to come back, AND, when I got inside the tunnel, it was REALLY dark. I ran all the way here! It was a REALLY long passage! I heard mice scurrying!" She shuddered at the thought of the little rodents.

Parvati giggled at her sister's overreaction and grabbed her arm. "Come on," she said, dragging her sister up the stairs and into the Gryffindor dormitories' staircase. "Let's go, the party's about to start."


End file.
